Annual Catalogue

Wow what a month! Wanted to blog more often and I have no idea what happened to May but it's gone and now I'm gearling up for end of school and the Stampin' Up! new annual catalogue.
Can I just say I am in love with some of the new stuff? Like WOW guys- way to out do yourself!
So I am adoring the new In Colors. Lemon Lime Twist? uh- yes please! I do love my Stampin' Up, but it IS about time that they had a bold fun green. Before that, my Old Olive and Pear Pizzazz were good- but this Lemon Lime Twist is so perfect for some of my more playful creations.
The other colors accent it perfectly and I will defintely be highlighting them on projects to come. I haven't used them together, but I ordered a pack of Berry Burst, Lemon Lime Twist and Smokey Slate (because I was out of Smokey Slate) and holding them together once the order came in gave me a 'huh?' moment with the creative gears spinning in my little ol' head.
And Color Theory? Oh don't even get me started! Colorful Seasons stamp set (with the dies, obviously) has got to be, hands down, one of the coolest sets I have seen in a long time. I couldn't wait to dig in. I love snowflakes and cherry blossoms and leaves and this set is PERFECT! I thought the beach chairs were kinds wuh-wuh- until Pinterest showed me other wise. And the Sentiments with this set? THE SENTIMENTS?! I love girly swirly matching fonts and *sigh* yes. yes SU! you have hit it out of the park.
So I was dealing with illness and kids and work work work before I could play.
And play I did :) I was inspired by the natural element of the stamp set so I decided to get my watercolor (ish) on and do the ink splatter? technique. Coloring on clean stamp blocks and spraying with my Stampin' Spritzers to create a fun watercolor background. I went a bit background crazy and have a stack here just waiting to become the background of new cards, but here is what I came up with for a few of them:

 The neat thing with creating a watercolor background is you can either blend matching colors (or colors that accent each other on the color wheel) and make something that is eye catching and appealing. Or, what I had done here, is create 'sand' using Sahara Sand and Crumb cake and built up to a horizon with Soft Sky, Pool Party, and Marina Mist. I adored it and figured it gave that beach in the background feel. Plus, my good old Woodgrain Background stamp. MAN that thing gets a lot of play. What can I say? It's pretty much perfect for a lot of different stamp styles :)
That font off to the side? PERFECT! Sheer ribbon and some old Soft Sky ribbon intwined finished it off.
To get that fun torn edge, my own technique is to dip the edge of the cardstock (on the layers beneath the main layer) and then fray them with the edge of my scissors. Then I let it dry a bit before sanding and curling here and there.

This beauty was created by the fabulous branches and blossoms and, again, LOVE IT. The Melon Mambo, Tangerine Tango and Flirty Flamigo ink mashed together blended into what I interpret as a beautiful firey sunset.
Because I use watercolor paper for the watercolor technique (we don't want to wreak that precious Whisper White!) I created a frame for the 'painting' by cutting the mat the same size as my watercolor paper, and then trimming the inside to 1/4 of an inch all the way around. You could wet and tear the edges to give it more dimentions. I just smooshed my ink pad on it.

So there you go! See what happens when I'm gone too long? I get wordy and start gushing over new items :P
I hope you enjoyed- happy stamping!

~Brandie~